My fig addiction is now beyond cure I am certain, having acquired nearly 50 different varieties in less than a year.

So given that, there is only one way to go: Forward, with more figs.

But as I increasingly run out of space, I have to be far more particular about planting only the best cultivars.

And with all the figs, we still don't have a Mission Fig.

The Mission is a very common and outstanding fig, but there are many strains.

What does everyone think is the best strain of Mission?

Thank you friends, and hope you are all well, and that your figs are making it through the winter well too.  It's been a tough one so far.

Best wishes.

John
North Georgia Piedmont
Zone 7b

John
I like my Vista Mission because that is the only one I have of fruiting age.
It was true to its colour, dark before it was even ripe and it ripened for me in Zone 5a even though it was not located in place of honour which is the south side wall of our garage facing south.

Thanks Ottawan.  That does sound like a winner.

Our local nursery had a nice sized good looking fig tree labeled only as "Mission Fig" and I passed: 1) Because there appears to be many strains; and 2) Honestly, anytime you buy from them it turns out to be a "mystery fig" anyway (sometimes good; sometimes not).

So if I was going to grow from cuttings, I wanted to start with the best strain, and greatly appreciate everyone's thoughts, which I hope will be helpful to many as this is a very common fig, and a very good one, and propogating only the best cultivars is in everyone's best interests.

Thanks.  Ottawan.  Despite the recent weather, hope you have an early Spring.

John

This link goes back to mission i bought
http://figs4funforum.websitetoolbox.com/post?id=4805331&highlight=monrovia+mission
my tree is young and i tasted a few that ripened very late here in October and will get a better gauge next season.

Someone in South Korea bought the available scion off my tree and others when they went dormant and hope to hear from him in future.

Thank for sharing this Martin.  I enjoyed reading through the whole thread.

Ed said he had 4 different strains of Mission.  Looks like there are quite a few out there.

Maybe we need not just one Mission, but a collection of Missions?  ;-)

The mission to find the perfect Mission continues! . . . .

I also tried a few,and My problem with Mission strains is that most of them were not very cold hardy,to resist outside inground here.
I do have Vista,and is resisting well to cold here,but Vista is not a real Mission,but a Violette de Bordeaux strain,or sport,not Identical to the original but close.
I have another Mission,from George M,but it did not fruit yet.
The one from George has the exact leaves of the Mission.
I have another one from a Gardener in Texas, and another one from Sinhedrin Nursery.
So far the results are not very encouraging when about cold resistance,but I keep searching.

I'd give you cuttings from the one down the street from me, but it swells too much from rains, which makes it a poor choice for our area.

I had about ten or so Mission cuttings from my tree.
Don't know what happened but they molded in the Bag.

Straight in the garbage.

Maybe in the Spring time when I unwrap my tree I can send you some cuttings.

Hi Herman.  Hope you are well my friend.

This is very interesting (that Vista is a variety of VDB).  To me at least, VDB is an outstanding fig, so this is a plus.  And Vista is relatively cold hardy also.  Another plus.  I also read on another thread that Vista is reported to be less prone to splitting from heavy rain (thanks for the heads up on this concern Jason).

Given all of this, Vista would probably be a real winner here I would think. 

But I am also increasingly thinking that we should try several varieties of Mission, as here in Zone 7b we should have the longer, hotter season needed.

The more I have read about the Missions though, the more interested I am in these.

I think maybe I will have to get more land!  ;-)

Thanks to everyone.  I greatly appreciate your input and I am learning a lot. 

Hope some of this is helpful to others learning as well.

Best wishes.

John
North Georgia Piedmont 

Hi John,
I have one Mission. Ordered from UCD in 2008. I don't know what variety it is. It was the only one listed on their
order list at that time. The first year it had 2 figs and last year about 8 or so. They were excellant figs. No problems with them and they tasted delicious. I'm in zone 6, currently buried in snow and getting more after midnight.

Peg 

Thanks Peg.  I have heard that the fresh Missions are delicious.

So far we only have dried Missions (we ordered a case of organic dried Mission Figs).  Those were delicious too.  Best dried figs ever.

And the dark color likely means that the Mission Figs are loaded with healthy anti-oxidants.

Hope you make it through the snow fine and that Spring comes early for you Peg.

Best wishes.

John

which of the Many Missions is the original brought by Spanish missionaries??

Vista, or Vista Mission, or Vista Black Mission is really Violette de Bordeaux by DNA tests at USDA/UC Davis.

Best Black Mission, by far is the "NL" version. I have quite a few variants, and have tried quite a few more, and there is not contest.

Italiangirl, when we find one of those original missionaries, we can ask them. ;-))

The missionary was from the Franciscan order. Per some fig history books, the mission fig first came through mexico into California via father Junipero Serra.

Hi Jon.  And thanks.

Do you know of a good source for the NL variant of the Mission Fig?

And if the Vista is a larger variant of the VDB that would be great, as the VDB is outstanding but rather small.

My great thanks to everyone for the most helpful information.

And Italiangirl, I was wondering the exact same thing!

Figs are fun to grow, great to eat, very healthy, etc., but one of the reasons I love figs is that as clones you can have an exact replica of an historical plant, so the history of the variety interests me as well.

Best wishes to all.

John

Thanks Bass!  Now THAT is an interesting history!

Best wishes.

John

I've got 3 Black Mission fig trees that I purchased from HD and Lowes 3 years ago.  These 3 strains are suppose to be hardy. The first year, I left them in thier pot outside.  The next year I repoted them.  They grew very little. That Fall I popped them in the ground side by side and gave them some mulch. 

When winter came all 3 were hit and I did not winter protect them.  Well, as you can see from the pics all 3 were burned bad from our cold winter in 2009.  I thought all were dead but all 3 bounced back. The winter pics were taken April 3 2010.  As the ground got warmer, new life came in May.  The new life pics were taken May 12th 2010.  However, only one has MV and did not fruit.  The other 2 did.  The figs were very sweet and excellent. 

In November of 2010, I decided to protect them and gave them a mulch mat to keep the roots warm.  I also wrapped them with burlap.  Last weekend, it was 65 degrees and I uncovered them.  I'll post some pics on April and May this year and show the difference.  I think the 2 that fruit will be a good strain.  More to come.  Cheers,

Hi Bass.  Great question.  I will defer others with more expertise on figs for a specific answer, but here is a general answer: Genes are constantly in flux.  Even a cloned plant might experience a genetic mutation over time caused by a virus, etc., so that even with asexual reproduction there will be small genetic shifts over time.

Further, as Jon has said, figs are very sensitive to their environment, so even if you had two figs that were genetically identical (at the time), they might appear somewhat different due to variations in local environmental factors, and the fruit might be dramatically different.

It is good to have names, so we have some reasonable agreement about what it is we are talking about, and people know what they are getting and what they are growing.

But while the abstraction of perfect categories is appealling, it is likely the the reality is far too complex to fit into neat and separate categories on every plant in perpetuity.  There may have been, for example, an original Mission Fig, but now there are many, including some that were mislabled and are not related to the original.  But they are all Mission Fig-ish.

And Jason, we have that same pattern with all of our inground trees: Freeze back and regrowth from the roots every year.  But after a few years, they toughen up and form a solid hard wood base that take the freezing winters.

Best wishes to all.

John

Bass, unfortunately, I have not been able to contact Father Serra.

Encanto Farms is the source for the NL variant. I bought this tree almost 20 years ago, probably from one of the nurseries in the NW, but am not sure.

VdB should be a smaller fig. Better to eat 2 good small figs than 1 large mediocre fig. Size shouldn't be a big issue.

Bass, I have 20+ Celestes. They are all Celeste, but they are still not the "same". I propagate some, and others I don't because some are more productive, or have larger or better fruit. They all DNA test the same at Davis, but still have their own characteristics, and they vary from year to year, and during the season. Are identical twins the same? Yes but they have differences, none-the-less. Seedlings can vary widely because 1/2 of their genes are completely different. If you look at the DNA result5s at Davis and compare Vista and Encanto, you will see how far apart they are, but Encanto is a seedling of Vista. The fact that they are related makes them an interesting pair of specimens when talking about genetics.

Bass,
I also have a Violette de B from a cutting in the same 2008 order from
UCD. Now that it has been mentioned I do see a similarity in the fruit.
Both have delicious fruit. The VdB has very different growth habits. Its
bushier and at the same age put out more fruit. The Mission has grown
taller with very few side branches. It really needs to be shortened but in doing so I may not get any fruit this summer. What to do????

I like knowing the name of those I have but I'm partial to those that have the best tasting fruit and are productive no matter what their name is.

Right now, burried in snow, I'm eating fig preserves made form the bumper crop of celeste and a couple of small jars of whole figs following Bass' recipe for the almost ripe last of the season figs. Both are very good. Easy to do and worth the effort. Thanks Bass.

Peg

John
After all these posts one thing seems to be sure now.
Unlike others, you have to wait a long time to be sure to say "Mission Accomplished".

Thanks Jon.  Getting an NL Mission Fig is now at the top of my wish list for this year.

Also, on the "Size shouldn't be a big issue" thing, that's a topic for a whole different thread . . .

(I love this Forum!)  ;-)

To Peg:Good observation,about the Vista Mission and Violette difference:
In my Garden it show the same Difference:
Vista M wants to grow tall ,one trunk,and Violette wants to grow as a Bush.
As for what to do?:Force them to grow the way you want by judicious pruning, They will comply.

To Peg you type this
It really needs to be shortened but in doing so I may not get any fruit this summer. What to do????

If you wish cut top leader down some it will yes take away some figs as you trim, it should awaken some older nodes down lower .
This will help it slowly bush out more over time.

Here is example of such on my mature Hardy Chicago a node that awakend after i trimmed canopy and snipped leader.
Notice how low node is on my tree.